I did it because I found the new Timeline user interface, forced without consent, or recourse, upon everyone to be a poorly written user interface whose imposition on people indicated a corporate culture with which I do not want to associate.

Several friends have suggested using patching programs to alter the timeline to something more acceptable. I think all of you who suggested this but it misses the point.

At the end of the day, our last recourse is to vote “with our feet.” When something is bad, there’s always the option to stop using it.

Facebook is going to make lots of money mining the data provided by its users (for more, read Anne McCaffrey’s “The Dull Drums” which pretty much predicts the way in which Facebook and others will be mining our data).

The smart move on their part would be to make their user interface completely transparent and encourage users to develop their own variants, culling the best and offering them to newcomers. This is not only empowering but a smart way to get good interfaces.

That Facebook did not even think of that but rather forced “their way” on everyone is indicative of a culture which doesn’t actually care about its users. Our information, freely given, is theirs to mine; our feedback, completely ignored, means nothing to them.

Fine. I voted with my feet. If enough people do the same, Facebook may become more responsive to its users and may survive. If not, their very arrogant nature will ultimately spell the downfall of the company.

I hope they learn but it’s telling that sending feedback to Facebook is only possible when quitting.

7 Responses to “Why I left Facebook”

I had resisted joining Facebook because of some of the things going on–and from what I hear the new Timeline interface is still worse.

I’m sorry to find out from you that yep, it’s really that bad. Sorry for those who need a social networking site that does the good side of what Facebook provided, and sorry for Facebook itself. As you said, if people start leaving because they don’t like the bad side of Facebook, it’ll dwindle away. Exploiting those they claim to serve, and refusing to listen to their members is…um…stupid.

Sorry to see you go. Each of us has such reactions to different things. I myself have refused to cow to the mighty Microsoft Office machine because I find the product to be inferior and they impose changes such as the Ribbon interface without recourse.

Aww. I completely understand, though. I was an early adopter for Timeline (when only developers could access it), so I’ve gotten used to it. I grit my teeth and ripped the band-aid off, so to speak. But I know many despise it, and it really does tell a LOT about a person looking at their timeline, more than anyone can accurately censor without spending a full day on picking through it. (Particularly when you’re a user since ~2007, like myself.)

I’m gonna miss your posts, especially since we shared many of the same political stances. I’m also going to miss how accessible you were there for even the most mundane questions. I’ll go ahead and add you on twitter, even if I’m a tad more quiet there than Facebook. 🙂

I get what you’re saying. The timeline is really annoying, especially for a very linear posting page like my comic. I wish I was strong enough to just ditch, but I think it’s a pretty good marketing platform for me.